Cooperation in the Face of Complexity: The Future of Water Governance

Mark Lubell will be visiting Ohio State and giving a talk onCooperation in the Face of Complexity: The Future of Water Governance at 1p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 20 in 2130 Derby Hall. Lubell is doing cutting edge research on human behavior and the role of governance institutions in solving collective action problems and facilitating cooperation. In this talk, Lubell considers the future of water governance as the effects of climate change are being felt in regions all across the world. Drawing upon extensive empirical research and experimental modeling of watershed governance, he will explore how cooperation problems often serve as the cause of many environmental conflicts.

Lubell is professor and director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior, University of California-Davis. His research focuses on human behavior and the role of governance institutions in solving collective action problems and facilitating cooperation. The collective action problems associated with environmental policy provide a laboratory for his research. His current projects include watershed management, environmental activism, agricultural best management practices, and institutional change in local governments. He also works in experimental economics and simulation techniques to further explore collective action theory. With over 6300 citations and 38 h-index publications, Lubell's work is both widely cited and highly regarded.